This TT company is reinventing the meaning of pharmacy in Latin America & the Caribbean. A new pharmacy-startup, medl, has launched in Trinidad with over 100 doctors on board, having been selected as one of just 5 out of 500 organisations in Latin America & the Caribbean to win a US$150,000 grant by the Inter-American Development Bank. Unlike unregulated online pharmacies, medl is the first in the region to be fully compliant with local legislation and regulations, adhering to international security standards and sourcing medication solely from licensed distributors. Medl’s innovative new app allows patients to order prescription medication delivered to their door within 3 days from their in-house pharmacy, whose pharmacists call patients to manage their medication.
Medl’s senior advisor, internationally respected endocrinologist Professor Surujpal Teelucksingh says: “in the era of telemedicine, it is good that someone came up with the idea to teleport medicines to the doorstep of our patients. This small step could mean a giant leap for many who lack mobility!” medl’s founders Kiran Mathur Mohammed, a development economist and columnist, and Edward Inglefield, former chef and entrepreneur, came together after seeing the challenges their families face in managing medication for their grandparents. Medl’s experienced pharmacy team is led by senior pharmacist Katisha Narinesingh, who is committed to bringing a new standard to continual care and protecting patients from fraudulent medications rife in the industry.
According to co-founder Mathur Mohammed:
“It’s unacceptable that six in ten people in the Caribbean die from chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. What makes this worse is that almost all of these can be completely managed with existing medication. As it is, one in two scripts are never filled.”
The company aims to save patients time and hassle while allowing them access to confidential delivery and continual medication care. As medl uses a centralized pharmacy, they save on overhead costs, which allows them to offer free delivery and competitive medication costs.
“We believe healthcare can and should be simpler,” says Inglefield.
“Right now, there are so many pain points in the way of people getting their medication- time, hassle, access, cost and information. We looked at the process from start to finish, interviewing more than 60 doctors to identify and remove each pain point.”
Doctors use Medl’s proprietary portal to send prescriptions to the patient app. More than a hundred doctors have already signed up, including respected senior specialists such as Professor Teelucksingh, orthopedic surgeon Mr. David Toby and telehealth pioneer Dr. Alexandra Ames.
Dr Renata Pooran of the Renand clinic, who is already using the platform with her patients, said: “It is a very user-friendly, interactive and well-executed platform. The app is an excellent tool that allows easy access to medication at an affordable cost to patients with the ease of home delivery. I think it will greatly assist in the management of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes by improving patient compliance with medication.” The IDB Lab panel noted: “The objective of this operation is to accelerate the launch of medl, a service that will support health and wellness of persons using prescribed medications with an immediate focus on elderly persons and persons afflicted with NCDs in the context of COVID-19, by supporting medicinal compliance, reducing exposure and reducing costs to users of the platform.
We wish to recognize the commitment, innovation and professionalism of the medl team in securing these resources through a very competitive process.” Medl has launched in Port of Spain and along the East-West corridor up to Arima (with selected drop-off locations in Central and South Trinidad) and will roll-out across Trinidad. This is just the start. According to medl’s founders: “There’s no reason why a TT-born company shouldn’t be at the forefront of innovation across the developing world”.
Anyone who wants to sign-up can download the app and ask a medl doctor to prescribe or call Medl’s customer service team at 610-6335. A list of medl doctors is available on their website, www.medl.co. Medl currently works with all insurers and will be rolling out in-app insurance claims in the coming weeks. Doctors interested in signing up can visit the medl website.
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For press inquiries and interviews please contact Kiran Mathur Mohammed at kiran@medl.co or 1 868 789-8526, or Edward Inglefield at edward@medl.co or 1 868 395 1473.
